East Union senior Giana Gesler signs her National Letter of Intent to join the softball program for Notre Dame de Namur University in the San Francisco Bay Area. Gesler is surrounded by her coaches...

JAGADA CHAMBERS/The Bulletin

After suffering through an injury that would seemingly have pushed an athlete out of the collegiate ranks, East Union senior Gianna Gesler used a strong sophomore campaign coupled with a dedicated grind on the summer travel ball circuit to earn an athletic scholarship to Notre Dame de Namur University in the Bay Area.

Gesler inked her National Letter of Intent to attend the NCAA Division-II program in Belmont and compete in the Pacific West Conference. She will compete in the 10-school conference, against four programs in Hawaii, a program in Utah, another in Arizona and three other California based schools.

The Argonauts finished in the middle of the pack of the Pac-West a season ago and head coach Steve Rianda is poised to nab a NCAA postseason berth in just his fifth season at the helm.

“Coach Rianda is the nicest guy,” Gesler said of her future head coach. “He’s straight up and he and I get along so well and I cannot wait to get down there and perform for him.”

Gesler will definitely have some unfinished business during her final run through the Valley Oak League. Gesler will return for her senior off an injury and will have to be leader on and off the field for the Lancer program. With the reality of her collegiate future secure, now Gesler will have to focus on helping East Union get back to the top of the league standings.

“It takes the pressure off of me,” Gesler said. But it also makes me want to perform even better to show and to prove that I earned what I got.”

The Argonauts have come up with a substantial financial package for Gesler, eliminating a host of pressures and obligations from her family. The Argonauts are investing in its future, securing a player that has held captain status on travel ball teams as well as for head coach Brian Goulart’s East Union program. She is currently toting a 4.0 grade point average and is set firmly in completing her college experience with a degree in nursing.

“Academics is a big part of my life,” Gesler said. “I want to be a nurse, or a nurse practitioner. I’ve known what I wanted to be since sixth grade and I’m just going to push forward to get it.”